cutting down trees

John Mc · June 09, 2008, 07:24:28 PM

Kevin -

That's it. It's just a way someone figured out to use similar "bore cut"-type methods when you don't otherwise have room to drive a wedge. Boring back through the hinge makes a slot for your wedge, but leaves the sides in place to support the tree so it doesn't settle back and close up the back cut before you can get the wedge in. Once the wedge is set, you make the two back cuts and give a few whacks on the wedge to take the back lean out and drive the tree over. It's a waste of time on a small tree without any back lean.

John Mc

rebocardo · June 09, 2008, 08:05:35 PM

> My final cookie was almost 4" thick

Now that I know someone that actually uses them like that with success I might try it myself. Though if I had an oak of any size decent size in an urban area that needed a 4" cookie, I think I might tell them to call an arborist, I am not that brave. :D

zackman1801 · June 09, 2008, 09:51:16 PM

Quote from: John Mc on June 09, 2008, 07:24:28 PM

It's a waste of time on a small tree without any back lean.

thats why this technique is only used for trees that are small, and have more than 1-2 feet of back lean, if they have only a small amount usually you can just push them over if they are small enough. i know that some people have different opinions on what small is, so im talking trees >12" DBH. anything bigger you can just bore cut normally and have room for a few wedges.

John Mc · June 09, 2008, 10:34:04 PM

Quote from: rebocardo on June 09, 2008, 08:05:35 PM

Now that I know someone that actually uses them like that with success I might try it myself. Though if I had an oak of any size decent size in an urban area that needed a 4" cookie, I think I might tell them to call an arborist, I am not that brave. :D

The one I did this on was a black walnut. The back lean was over a small riverside cottage at my in-laws. I did chicken out a bit. I wanted to see if it was possible (I was confident it was, but seeing is believing). I figured I didn't want to get the thing most of the way cut, and then discover that I wished I had tied a rope or chain up high. We took a good rope and tied it off to a tractor before I started cutting. We put just a bit of tension on it, but the tractor driver's instructions were to let me push it over with the wedges unless I signaled him otherwise. It was neat seeing the step up in cookies from about 3/4" up to something that looked a bit thicker than a 4X4 as I alternated wedges. This tree was big enough that the angle in the backcut created by a cookie that size was not something that was in danger of spitting the cookie out of the gap (a 4" cookie in a 10 or 12" dbh tree would be more of a concern).

Fun time. Would have been quicker to just pull it over once we already had the tractor and the rope set up, but it was a good learning experience for me.

John Mc